The Hunted
by syko4bosco aka A. Lalad
Summary: A short, suspenseful piece...please read to find out!


The Hunted  
By: syko4bosco aka A. Lalad  
Disclaimer: I don't hafta disclaim ANYTHING! (MUhahahaha!) I never mention any names!   
Take that you evil lawyers!  
  
[b]AUTHORS NOTE[/b][i]This story is being told 'en medias res', meaning that you are   
not supposed to know what has happened before, or what will happen after. The event   
preceeding and proceeding this piece are to be left up to the reader's imagination![/i]  
  
That said, this piece will be a standalone. [i](unless... ;) )[/i]  
  
(Don't kill me! You've been warned! ;) )  
  
==*==   
They stood face to face in the middle of the field. It was dark, and the dim light   
from the moon allowed her to barely   
see his eyes and the sweat that glistened off his forehead and bare chest.  
  
They were both gasping for air, but he remained deathly still, eyes locked with hers   
in a vice-grip. She searched them for answers, but there was no recognition there--  
just wild animal terror and confusion.  
  
Time stood still for a second or an eternity, and then like lightening, he spun and   
bolted off back into the forest.  
  
Startled and still out of breath, she took off after him.  
  
He lept over branches and roots at super human speed, and as hard as she tried, she   
couldn't gain any ground on him.  
  
She plunged into the dark mass of trees and felt the temperature change. She was   
running blindly now, the moon completely blocked out by the thick canopy of leaves   
above them. How he could see where he was going was a mystery, and as her eyes   
adjusted, she could barely keep his dark form in her sights.  
  
It seemed like they ran forever, legs burning and pushing her farther into the   
unknown. Then he ran through a clearing ahead of her, and she could see red glinting   
off his matted hair in the peeking moonlight. He wasn't slowing down.  
  
Pain suddenly laced through her ankle, and she found herself on her knees instantly.   
Watching hopelessly as he ran off into the abyss, she bit her lip and forced herself   
back onto her feet, ignoring the fire that burned in her right leg. She couldn't   
bear to loose him by even another foot of space, but he was getting away.  
  
She struggled to a run, (going as fast as she could but not fast enough) through the   
clearing, into the dark woods again. She couldn't see him, but she could hear the   
quick crunch of leaves and sticks ahead.   
  
And them. They were getting closer.  
  
Those that would offer so much help to others were now the enemy. That which they once   
were was now that which they tried to hide from and decieve. Police, Fire, EMT, FBI,   
CIA, SWAT...it could be any or all of them now. Getting caught was out of the question.  
  
If she was caught, she would inherit a world of trouble--a future of pain, but she   
couldn't even fathom what they would do if they caught him. She didn't want to think   
of it.  
  
She could feel the tissue in her nose burning as she painfully picked up her pace.   
Her muscles ached, but the adrenaline surging through her never allowed her to falter.  
  
He came into sight again, leaned over, hands on his knees, panting for air. His   
breathing was slow and awkward, long drawn out breaths that were sucked in weakly   
and quickly. Another bit of moonlight, another glimpse at his bloody head. What had   
they done to him?  
  
Again the voices floated through the trees, closer now. And footsteps. Like tribal   
drums. How many men would they have to fight? How many were hunting them?  
  
She stopped, and approached him slowly. He didn't acknowledge her, but she knew he   
was aware of her presence. As she got closer she could see him shaking, his muscles   
rigid and trembling. He was drenched with sweat and blood and dirt. She heard him   
swallow and hold his breath.  
  
In a blur, he pounced on her, tackling her to the ground. He straddled her and held   
her hands down against the cold floor of the forest, and she found herself inches   
from his frightened, fevered eyes.  
  
Blood pulsed through her ears, drowning out all other sounds, and tears sprang to her   
eyes. She couldn't remember ever being this frightened in her life.  
  
He grabbed her shoulders and shook her ferociously. Like a voice at the end of a   
tunnel, she heard herself begging him to stop. He slammed her into the ground again   
and glared down at her with a bone-chilling look in his eyes.  
  
She swallowed and bit back more tears.  
  
"It's ME." she stated adamantly, desperately. "It's ME."  
  
She stated it over and over to him, calmly, and watched as his face went from murderous  
rage to confused understanding. To her relief, he finally realized who she was.   
He got off of her quickly, sat back on his heels and stared at her.  
  
"My God." he whispered, looking at his shaking hands. He buried his head in them.  
  
"I'm so sorry, I...I don't know what..." he looked up at her through splayed fingers.   
  
Pain was written all over his face. Shame. He had harmed her, and that was worse   
than any of the things he had endured.  
  
She nodded and forced back more tears. She hadn't imagined their reunion to be quite   
like this. Gathering herself, ignoring her aching body, she stood quickly when nearby   
yelling poured through the darkness around them.  
  
"We have to go. We have to go RIGHT NOW." she grabbed his arm and pulled him to his   
shaky feet. He was unresponsive, eyes glassy, face void of emotion.  
  
She gently pulled his face down to look at hers. Their eyes made contact, and for a   
brief moment, a glimmer of the man she used to know--the man she used to love--shone   
through.  
  
"We have to go RIGHT NOW." she said again, and this time he understood.  
  
So they ran farther into the woods, not knowing what direction they were heading or   
if they had gone in a circle, but knowing nothing else they could do.   
  
All around them their hunters were closing in. Their voices never seemed to be far off,   
no matter how far or long they had gone.  
  
Then, suddenly, they were out. Out of the woods, out of the dark, out of the range of   
the voices and the noises.  
  
They stood on the ridge for a minute, catching their breath and trying to massage out   
the cramps in their muscles.  
  
There was utter calm for a split second, then--from nowhere--a harsh, bright light rose   
from the valley below, and the almost silent, black helicopter sent them fleeing back   
into the woods again.  
  
==*==   
  
There you go! The rest is for you to decide! What happened before? What happens next?   
It's up to you, Reader! (I warned you)   
  
:D  
  
~Amanda 


End file.
